Hotwater-audit
Hot Water Audit Purpose
Before installing a solar hot water system at Miller Farm we wanted to get a clear idea of how much energy the farm house is using to heat hot water, and from that estimate the cost savings of a solor unit. Developing a model of the energy cost and hot water usage for Miller Farm turned out to be an involved process. In attempting to produce a reasonable estimate we used- multiple online hot water cost and energy usage resources, and we collected equipment model information from manufacturers' websites. We combined these with experimental data and our best guesses to form a working model of Miller Farms hot water usage.
We began with a list of hot water considerations:
- What fixtures use hot water at Miller Farm?
- How often are these fixtures used?
- What is the averge hot water consumption for each use?
- Can the current water heater accomidate the peak use (i.e. is all hot water used fully heated)?
- How much energy is needed to provide the averge daily hot water used?
- What is the monthly cost of heating water at Miller Farm?
